All 'Bout Bella

First, a word about her name...  We are still calling her "Ya Ya", her Chinese nickname, a good portion of the time.  It seems to fit and that is still what she considers her name to be.  When we chose "Isabel" as her name (and there are SO many variations on the spelling!  Yikes!), I was intent on calling her Isabel rather than "Bella" most of the time, even though the rest of my family had planned on calling her "Bella" most of the time.  I even got "Isabel" embroidered on her little backpack.  Now that we have met her and know her, however, she is, most definitely a "Bella."  And Bella is much easier for her to say, for now, than "Isabel."  So she is learning that her English name is "Bella".  And she seems to like it!

She is adjusting well overall. We are seeing more sides of her personality now--in China she was all smiles and giggles and didn't say much except in response to questions. Now that we're home and she and I spend many hours at home together, she talks nonstop, babbling on about things in our house, asking questions about what our day will hold, complaining about the dog coming near her, and frequently asking me for tissues for her runny nose.

She feels the need to constantly bring things to me or pick things up from the counter to ask whose they are.  For instance, she frequently says "Mama, here's your phone!" and tries to give it to me when I've left it on the counter while I'm cleaning the kitchen or cooking.  I've learned to just say "Thank you!  Please put it back!"  It drove me a little crazy the first few days! 

She still smiles and giggles A LOT when around lots of people--as a result, she is absolutely charming to new people because she just seems so very happy and receptive. I am now realizing, however, that this behavior is sort of a front for nervousness when she doesn't seem to know how to respond and feels somewhat out of control. It can quickly turn from hysterical laughter to hysterical sobbing because she is on such an edge emotionally sometimes.

Her Mandarin is very clear (though she has more of a southern accent than the Beijing hua I was trained in) and our conversations throughout the day are 100% in Chinese.  When everyone else is home, she and I still speak Chinese, and the rest of the gang joins in when they can...lots of Cantilina Chinglish happening around here again.  Sometimes we'll set aside 15 minutes and only Chinese is allowed...no English from anyone unless they need to whisper to mom to ask how to say something.  It is fun to watch Lilly start to speak more Chinese again...when I complimented her recently on accuately translating something Bella had said she said seriously "Mom, I AM Chinese...."  Made me smile. 

Bella is beginning to speak some English words...  For now she is mostly just parroting things she hears as she hears it, but we are seeing glimpses of her understanding some of the words.  She used her first "Chinglish" sentence a few nights ago, declaring at dinner that "我不要cheese." (I don't want cheese). 

Speaking of dinner, this girl sure can eat!  Thankfully, she does not have any "food issues" like Lilly had when we first brought her home (screaming for all visible food, eating way too much and making herself sick).  I wish I could get Lilly to eat half of what Bella is capable of consuming.  I'm pretty sure she eats more than I do.  Mostly, she enjoys what we normally eat, though I do find myself making fried noodles for breakfast now and then. 

Her behaviors and her mannerisms definitely have us thinking that she is either younger than her "estimated" age of 5 years and 9 months (her age was estimated when she was abandoned over 2 years ago...they say she was 3 1/2 at the time) or she truly is developmentally delayed in certain ways. We are hoping to do some medical testing to get a better assessment of her actual age so that we know more clearly what her delays may be. Next week I begin the process of having her evaluated for her educational needs...we will see where that leads. For now, I am doing my best to just incorporate lots of therapeutic types of play--matching games, playdough, coloring, playing at the park, puzzles, etc. 

We are in the process of getting her scheduled for her first medical exams and dental exams.  Her teeth look much better than they did in China (thanks, Amy Phillips for the spin brush!), but they still clearly need some attention from a professional. 
She is getting used to the dog.  He is not her favorite part of the family.  At all.  But she tolerates him much better than she used to, and she is learning how to order him around like Lilly does.

She is only in the past day or two really starting to enjoy playing with toys.  She frequently says "I don't want to play with toys" and instead comes with me to help me empty the dishwasher, fold laundry, etc.  When I (or someone else) engages with her, she plays a little bit with toys, but does better with puzzles and games rather than imaginative play.  I was happy to see her today starting to play with our play oven and play food and pretend to cook some food (lots of it!) and even use the little potholder to get the "hot" things out of the oven.
 
She seems really sensitive to sunlight.  She does not want to leave the house without sunglasses on, even when it's overcast.  I need to get some more sunglasses that fit her...the ones we have are mostly baby sized and they pop off of her face! 

She also gets cold really easily.  She frequently wants to wear a coat in the house and gloves outside, even when I'm just wearing a light jacket.  And she shivers violently after a bath until we get her good and dry and bundled up.

She LOVES Jared.  She gets so excited when he comes home!  It's fun to watch her run over and throw herself at him.  She loves her Baba too.  She comes running for him, too.

That's all for now...I'm sure I'll think of more to say about Bella later...it will have to be another post for another time, cause I gotta tell you about "grafting in."